Mary Damiano Photo by David Vance

Mary Damiano’s Arts Scene

You may have noticed a fabulous new feature in each issue of MiamiARTzine.com—video interviews with the people who make South Florida such a diverse arts mecca. In this issue, you can watch an opening night chat with Suellen Estey, one the actresses in Suite Surrender, the world premiere by playwright Michael McKeever now playing at the Caldwell in Boca Raton. Even though we’ve been running the videos for several issues, we haven’t given our newest feature a proper MiamiARTzine.com launch, but that’s in the works. We’re planning one heck of a party, so watch the next issue for details.

Get MIFFed

Miami artist Cesar Santos with his poster for the 25th annual Miami International Film Festival, unveiled Wednesday, January 30 Photo: Mary Damiano

The official poster for the 25th annual Miami International Film Festival was unveiled Wednesday, January 30, at the Miami Dade College Wolfson Campus in downtown Miami. The poster, by local artist and Miami Dade College alum Cesar Santos, merges film and Miami, with the iconic Freedom Tower morphing into a movie camera and rising from the ocean. (Santos was featured in the Artist Spotlight in the November 9 issue of MiamiARTzine.com.) Patrick de Bokay, the festival’s director, introduced Santos as well as some of the highlights of the festival, which include more than 120 feature films from 50 countries, and $100,00 in awards for filmmakers. MIFF is going all out for their 25th edition, with red carpet events every night on Flagler in front of Gusman, where films will be screened each day of the festival. The stars expected to attend the festival include Colin Firth, Juliette Binoche, Carlos Santana, Carlos Saura, Ethan and Joel Coen, Demi Moore, Carlos Saura, David Schwimmer, Tony Shalhoub, Alfred Molina, Gael Garcia Bernal, Heather Graham and Harvey Keitel. At the poster unveiling, Dr. Eduardo Padron, president of Miami Dade College and Miami Mayor Manny Diaz praised the festival for its arts impact on Miami. Francisco Vargas, director of El Violin, the Mexican film that won the Knight Grand Jury Prize of $25,000 at the 2007 festival, also spoke about the importance of film festivals. “A film is like an open window that can bring people new views, and the festivals are the open doors.” The Miami International Film Festival runs February 28 through March 9. For more information and a complete schedule, visit www.miamifilmfestival.com.

Bold Strokes

The Dance Now! Ensemble opens its 2008 concert season with the premiere of its newest work, Secondary Colors, which explores how color impacts human senses. Choreographers Hannah Baumgarten and Diego Salterini use the natural interplay of color, light, sound, and movement to take the audience on a journey, blending the dance forms of ballet, modern and jazz as painters mix pigments to create their own colors. . Secondary Colors opens with Green—subdued and classical, transforms into Purple—edgy and dissonant, and resolves with Orange, a vibrant and energetic finale. Secondary Colors will be presented Saturday, February 9, 8 p.m. and Sunday, February 10, 7 p.m., at the Colony Theatre on Lincoln Road in Miami Beach. Tickets are $25 door, $20 advance, $15 students and seniors. Group tickets are also available. Tickets are available for purchase at the box office at 305-674-1040 and Ticketmaster. For more information, contact 305-975-8789.

Go on the Lam

Wifredo Lam: Personaje con Sombrero (Person with Hat) ca 1942, Gouache on paper, 37 ½ x 30 inches (95.2 X 76.2cm.). Collection Mrs. Tanya Brillembourg. ©2007 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York/ADAGP, Paris. Courtesy Haggerty Art Museum.

Miami Art Museum will host “Wifredo Lam in North America,” the first large-scale solo exhibition of the work of Wifredo Lam ever to be presented in a South Florida museum. This exhibition of paintings and works on paper by the most celebrated Cuban artist of the 20th century will be on view at MAM from February 8-May 18. “Wifredo Lam in North America” features more than 60 drawings and paintings representing the major phases in Lam’s career. MAM’s presentation of the exhibition will include approximately 20 additional works drawn from Miami-area collections, which will be on view exclusively in Miami. The exhibition focuses on the impact of Lam’s innovative visual vocabulary, which reflected his immersion in Cubist, Surrealist and Afro-Cuban aesthetics. By hybridizing aspects of the European avant-garde with Afro-Caribbean myths and art forms, Lam highlighted the vibrant cultural heritage of the African Diaspora and struck up a rich intercultural dialogue that remains influential to this day. There will be opening reception for MAM members Thursday, February 7 6-8 p.m., with live music, hors d’oeuvres, donation bar. For more info, visit www.miamiartmuseum.org.

So Many Museums…

Miami has lots of museums to choose from, and February is a great time to visit all of them. During the 2nd Annual Miami Museum Members Month (M4), you can become a member of any of the participating museums and visit the rest for free all month. Participating institutions include: Art Center/South Florida; Bakehouse Art Complex; Bass Museum of Art; Cisneros Fontanals Art Foundation; the Patricia and Phillip Frost Art Museum/Florida International University; the Haitian Heritage Museum; the Historical Museum of South Florida; the Jewish Museum of Florida; Lowe Art Museum/University of Miami; Miami Art Museum; Miami Beach Botanical Garden; Miami Children’s Museum; Miami Science Museum; Museum of Contemporary Art; Rubell Family Collection; Vizcaya Museum and Gardens; and the Wolfsonian-FIU. M4 will include lots of special exhibitions, cocktail parties and other special events. To commemorate the month long M4, local artists have been commissioned to design T-Shirts, one for each museum, which capture the essence of that particular venue. T-shirts will be sold at the special events and will benefit M4. For more info, visit www.JoinOneSeeThemAll.com.

A Musical Super Bowl Alternative

Robert Raines, who will conduct the Brampton Symphony Chamber Orchestra in a benefit concert for the SoBe Music Institute Scholarship Fund on Sunday, February 3

Not into Super Bowl Sunday? No problem. The Collins Park Neighborhood Association will present the Brampton Symphony Chamber Orchestra (BSO) conducted by Robert Raines performing “Musical Postcards from Abroad!” a benefit concert for the SoBe Music Institute Scholarship Fund on Sunday, February 3, 7 p.m. at the Colony Theater on Lincoln Road. “Musical Postcards from Abroad!” is a celebration of diverse musical cultures from around the world. The program includes music by Latin, Italian, French, Jewish, South American, European, American and Caribbean composers and performers, including Handel, Gershwin, Haydn, Donizetti, and Chopin. The soloists also reflect the international nature of the event, and include singers Toni Anderson (Jamaica), Salvatore Gambino (Italy), and Iris Rodrigues (India); harpist Andrew Chan (China); pianist Ronald Greidanus; percussionist Amin Kargaran; violinist Roderic Huynh Chan; and cellist Beata Csuka. Special feature guest soloists from the United States are singer Joseluis Amaro, concert violinist and former member of the SoBe Music Institute faculty members Tomas Cotik (Argentina) and trumpeter Oscar Garcia-Montoya (Costa Rica). There will be a VIP reception before the concert hosted by Mr. Miami Beach, Michael Aller, and the concert will be followed by a post concert VIP reception at Britto Central on Lincoln Road, with catering by Quattro Restaurant, wine donated by Palandri Winery from Australia. General admission is $20 per ticket (non-reserved seating) and VIP section tickets at $100 per ticket, which includes the post concert reception. Tickets available at Ticketmaster.com, Colony Theater Box Office 1040 Lincoln Road, Miami Beach or SoBe Music Institute at www.sobemusic.org.

Pop Goes the MOCA

Adora, one of the performers at the MOCA fundraiser, “POP 8 1/2 : La Dolce Vita”

It’s time for one of the hottest events of the season, the annual Museum of Contemporary Art fundraiser. MOCA always pulls out all the stops for this party, and this year is no exception. This year the theme pays homage to late Italian film director Federico Fellini. Called “POP 8 1/2 : La Dolce Vita,” the evening of fun, glamour and amore, will feature live entertainment by DJ Shlomi, DJ Hottpants and Adora, fantastic Italian cucina, cocktails, dancing, silent auction and other surprises. “POP 8 1/2 : La Dolce Vita” will be held Saturday, February 9, 8 p.m. to midnight, at MOCA in North Miami. Tickets are $175, and proceeds will benefit MOCA's Permanent Collection Acquisition Fund. To purchase tickets and for more information call 305-893-6211 or visit www.mocanomi.org.

Amore at the Movies

Marc Lavoine and Zoe Felix in Toute la Beauté du Monde, the opening night film of the Romance in a Can film festival

Valentine's Day is right around the corner, and what better way to celebrate than with movies that celebrate love? Enter the 2nd annual Romance in a Can Film Festival, which features a line-up of features and premieres of 25 European independent films. What sets Romance in a Can apart from other festivals is that its themes are devoid of violence and negativity, according to French-born festival director Isabelle Landsman. Three of the filmmakers will be on hand for meet and greets at special screenings/evenings dedicated to them: On February 10, France’s Marc Esposito will attend the U.S. premiere of Toute la Beauté du Monde at the Colony Theater; on February 23, Poland’s Lech Majewski will attend the U.S. premiere of Garden of Earthly Delights at the Byron Carlyle Theater; and on February 24, Israeli director Amir Manor will attend the screening of his closing night film, Reds, at the Colony Theatre. Films will be screened at various venues throughout Miami and Miami Beach, and the festival will also feature a variety of receptions, parties and special events. In conjunction with the romantic theme of the festival, there will be an exhibition of a series of photographs called “A Sweet Romance” by MiamiARTzine.com photographer Henry Perez at the Colony Theatre February 12 and 13. The Romance in a Can Film Festival takes place February 10-24. For more information and a complete schedule of events, visit www.romanceinacan.com.

Theatre Openings

After January’s onslaught of theatre—15 shows opened—February is getting off to a quieter start. North Miami’s M Ensemble has the lone opening over the next two weeks, with its show, Levee James by S.M. Shephard-Massat, running February 7 through March 2. It’s the story of three African Americans living with racially motivated violence in the deep south of the 1920s. www.themensemble.com. Another special event this weekend is at New Theatre, when sign language interpreters will sign the Sunday, February 3 matinee performance of Fill Our Mouths, which deals with deaf and hard of hearing characters and uses sign language throughout. www.new-theatre.org.